Tuesday, July 14, 2009

While in Seattle couple weeks back I got a chance to stop at Kinokuniya (Japanese Bookstore). I remember back in my high school years I would go to Kinokuniya in Kuala Lumpur after school and pick up the latest copies of Non No.

Well years and decades had since passed and I have completely out grown Non no, but I did pick up another Japanese fashion mag Classy and am now savoring the pages.

Couple of things that caught my eye:

1. This breezy outfit, perfect for summer. It looks so effortless and the fringe clutch made the whole outfit so much better.

2. Three ways to style a white bermuda shorts. I love how the shorts are paired with heels and wedges and yet it does not look trashy. The safari top, wide white belt, and nude peep toes outfit is definitely my favorite. I also love the versatility of cuffing the shorts for a different look.

There is something about Japanese style that I absolutely love but can't quite describe it with adjectives. I actually tore out my Lucky Mag stickers and started tagging pages after pages of the Classy magazine.

There is a spread on a variety of white shirts which I will scan in a day or two.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Couple of weekends ago I was over at a friend's house and his SIL brought the most amazing salad. After devouring almost half of the salad, I finally broke down and asked her for the recipe.

Turned out it's one of those "oh a little bit of this, and a pinch of that", "mix everything together", "that's it", type of recipe.

Er, great.

I tried googling the salad based on the ingredients. None of the results matched what I was looking for. But from what I remember, there were only 5 ingredients. Plus, I was suppose to bring a dish to dtothek and designerish July 3rd BBQ, what better time to "test" out a new dish?

So off to Shnucks. (local grocery store for those out-of-towners).

I bought all the ingredients, chopped and mixed it all up. Brought it to the BBQ gathering, and "thank goodness" it was well received by friends. So without further ado here is recipe for the delicious Caprese Salad with a twist:

1 small container of sweet cherry tomatoes1 container of basil - iirc it has a total of 8-10 basil leaves in it. Or if you can, pluck it from your own herb garden1 er... roll? roll, of fresh mozzarella cheesebalsamic vinegarextra virgin olive oilKosher salt and pepper

Cut tomatoes length wise. Put in big salad bowl.Chop up basil leaves. Put in big salad bowl with the tomatoes.Cut up the cheese into little cubes. Put in big salad bowl. If your friends ask, tell them it's "tofu" or "potatoes". Haha.Pour EVOO into big salad bowl and mix well.Pour some balsamic vinegar into a saucepan. Put pan on stove top and turn on medium heat. The goal is to reduce the balsamic vinegar by half or 2/3 of the starting volume.Pour reduced balsamic vinegar into big salad bowl. Bit by bit. Taste as you go in case the vinegar gets too overwhelming.Mix well.Sprinkle some kosher salt and grind fresh black pepper on salad.Mix well.Taste it.

I'll have to make this salad again this weekend and post up some pics to go with my super lame instructions. hah. But trust me, this is very easy and very very delish!